Heating your Home with a Solar Water Heater
Winter home or workshop heating can quickly become a very expensive situation and not everyone is able to make use of firewood. But for the do-it-yourselfer there are other alternatives.
| There are many ways to make an inexpensive solar-powered water heater. They are basically very simple.A typical design consists of a wooden frame, some corrugated metal sheeting painted black, and some high-temperature water tubing (PEX plastic or metal) also painted black. The tubing is in direct contact with the metal sheeting so that as the sun hits the metal, it heats up the piping.A transparent acrylic sheet is placed over the frame but not touching any of the metal parts, so there is an air space is created between the acrylic glazing and the metal. |  |
| A common automotive radiator with fan is connected to the solar heater. Hot water coming from the collector is circulated through the radiator and the cooled water returns to the bottom of the solar heater for re-warming. |  |
The system may work without a water pump depending upon how it is designed but an inexpensive water pump would ensure it works smoothly.
Depending upon how your house is laid out, you could put the solar water heater on your porch and run an insulated 1” pipe or hose through a wall. Or, if you want to get fancy, you could make a full, finished enclosure for it.
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| A Simple Version | A More Complex Version |
While this system will only work as long as the sun is shining on it, it has long been proven to be a valuable addition to off-the-grid home heating plans.
If you build a larger, more complex version and depending upon the temperatures where you live, you might be able to store enough hot water to provide heating through the night.
